Mecka AI, a startup that collects and analyzes human movement data to train humanoid robots and other types of robotics, is approaching a new round led by Sequoia Capital at a valuation of around $500 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.
The new funding comes just three months after Mecka announced it had raised $60 million in a round led by Framework Ventures that included participation from Menlo Ventures, SV Angel and Kindred Ventures.
TechCrunch has not learned the exact size of the new round. The terms of the agreement are not final and could still change.
Mecka AI did not respond to a request for comment. Sequoia declined to comment.
Mecka AI was co-founded in 2024 by four entrepreneurs, including Canadians Josh Gao and Mogen Cheng, who previously created a restaurant fintech startup, and Jason Chong, who joined Coinbase after it acquired their crypto exchange. Duy Nguyen, the only non-Canadian on the team, focuses on operations in Mecka.
The four co-founders have no experience in robotics. But they did recognize that there was a dearth of physical-world data and realized that capturing real-world interactions was the biggest obstacle holding back general-purpose robots, including humanoid ones.
Mecka, which derives its name from “mecha,” a fictional giant robot controlled by humans, set out to do with robotics what Scale AI, Mercor, Surge and other human data companies have done with LLMs. The startup pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks, like making coffee or fixing cars, using body sensors and smartphones.
In early June, Mecka projected that it would end 2026 at an annual rate of $100 million, Gao told Fortune when the startup announced its previous fundraising.
While Mecka AI has not publicly revealed its customer list, many robotics companies and AI labs rely on real-world data captured through this “egocentric” approach, along with other physical data collection methods such as teleoperation, to build their models.
Other startups collecting real-world data for robot training include XDOF, which TechCrunch reported last week was approaching a new round in a Valuation of $1.2 billionas well as human data platforms that expand beyond LLMs, such as Scaling AI and Micro1.
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